Tag: children

  • Children’s Music Network: Partner Spotlight on Confetti Park

    Children’s Music Network: Partner Spotlight on Confetti Park

    Children’s Music Network: Partner Spotlight on Confetti ParkKaty at WHIV

    Confetti Park is affiliated with The Children’s Music Network, which celebrates the positive power of music in the lives of children by sharing songs, exchanging ideas, and creating community.

    The Children’s Music Network maintains a blog series to shed light on its partners. This is a Q&A with Katy Hobgood Ray.

  • Storytime:  Little Laveau, a magical bedtime story by Erin Rovin

    Storytime: Little Laveau, a magical bedtime story by Erin Rovin

    Little Laveau by Erin Rovin
    Little Laveau by Erin Rovin

    It’s storytime from Confetti Park!

    In this episode, we hear the sweet and clever tale of Little Laveau, narrated by the author, Erin Rovin.

    Little Laveau is an enchanting little bedtime story set in the Louisiana bayou. Laveau is a lovable character who draws on her deep family roots and the magical environment for inspiration as she helps friends and animals.

    In this adventure, Little Laveau’s friend Thomas is having bad dreams, and he doesn’t know what to do. Luckily, Little Laveau has just the cure!

    When you have a bad dream gather up all those bad thoughts and put them in a jar. Take that jar and sprinkle those dreams right down the drain. They flow through the rivers and out into the sea, the salt water washes them clean and takes out all the scary! Then they get swept up onto the beach as grains of sand where the sun warms the bad right out of them all day long. That’s what the beautiful beach is made of, bad dreams turned good and beautiful by the ocean and the sun.

    The book, available for sale online at the Book Patch, features enchanting and atmospheric watercolors by Katie Campbell.

    Little Laveau is such a great character, and the idea for how she shares family recipes with her friends and readers is adorable.  We cannot wait to see what new adventures are in store for Little Laveau!

    Thank you so much Erin for sharing your story on Confetti Park.

     

  • Pizza Poetry Project encourages writing by New Orleans school kids

    Pizza Poetry Project encourages writing by New Orleans school kids

    Pizza Poetry ProjectQuestion: What’s better than getting a hot pizza pie delivered to your front door?

    Answer: Getting a hot pizza pie delivered with a side of poetry!

    LISTEN TO POEMS BY NEW ORLEANS SCHOOL KIDS

    Anyone ordering a pizza in the city of New Orleans on April 15 got a bit of lagniappe with their pie… they got a poem written by a New Orleans school kid ages 6-18 included in the box! (Participating restaurants included Reginelli’s, Theo’s Pizza, Pizza Delicious, Louisiana Pizza Kitchen (French Quarter location), Dolce Vita Wood Fired Pizzeria, Garage Pizza and G’s Pizza.)

    It was all part of the 3rd Annual Pizza Poetry Project by Big Class, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating and supporting the voices of New Orleans’ writers ages 6-18 through creative collaborations with schools and communities. The project as always help in April—National Poetry Month. Read more about the Pizza Poetry Project in this article written for NOLA.com by Christy Lorio.

    As a final celebration and reward for the kids, the Big Class hosted a Pizza Poet Laureate party at the Ashe Cultural Center on OC Haley. Confetti Park was there to capture the celebration and some of the poems in the kids’ voices. Enjoy these poems and this slideshow of photos!

  • Watch Out for the Pirates – the music video!

    Watch Out for the Pirates – the music video!

    Enjoy this music video for “Watch Out for the Pirates” featuring the Confetti Park Players and the NOLA Pyrates, filmed on location in Pirates Alley in the French Quarter, New Orleans, La. (Additional footage from Mardi Gras 2016.) This catchy pirate tune was written by Greg Schatz, a fabulous and prolific songwriter living in New Orleans, ‘specially for the Confetti Park Players. He’s one of our favorites!

    The video debuts just in time for NOLA Pyrate Week, which comes around once a year. We are so thrilled to have such good friends in the NOLA Pyrates, who come to our city to do good deeds and have a good time. Thank you to Captain John Swallow, QM Seika Hellbound and their NOLA Pyrates crew for telling our kids stories, teaching us how to swashbuckle, sharing with us your pirate history lore, and for being in our music video.

    Thank you to ‘Ween Dream! The kids were outfitted in loaned pirate costumes by ‘Ween Dream, a costume donation 501(c)(3) nonprofit that recycles donated Halloween costumes and gives them to kids in need.

    And a very special thanks to Ava Santana-Cassano and Sally Asher for loving film footage, to Leighton Barrett Strong for assistance, and to Thais and company at Pirates Alley Cafe for all the support and goodies. And to John Haffner, for being sparkly and awesome on Mardi Gras day.


     

    We're Going to Confetti Park
    We’re Going to Confetti Park

    “Watch Out for the Pirates” is from the album We’re Going to Confetti Park! by Katy Hobgood Ray & the Confetti Park Players. Available on CD & digitally.

    “Watch Out for the Pirates” (Greg Schatz, Kathryn Hobgood Ray) features: Rick G. Nelson, bass; Beth Patterson, Irish bouzouki; Katy Ray, vocals; Tim Robertson, guitar; Greg Schatz, accordion; Dr. Sick, fiddle; Michael Skinkus, percussion. Pirates: Matt Aguiluz, Keller Clark, John Haffner, Chris Lane, Elisa McDonald, Charleston McLean, Millie Moffett, Beth Patterson, David Eugene Ray. Recorded at Marigny Recording Studio. Mastered by Bruce Barielle.

     

     

     

     

    Spend my days on the Seven Seas
    Live my life just as I please
    Ride the waves, catch the breeze
    Watch out for the pirates

    Chorus:
    Watch out, hey watch out!
    Watch out for the pirates!
    Watch out, hey watch out!
    Watch out for the pirates!

    I don’t know but I’ve been told
    The pirate ships are strong and bold
    They come in the night and they steal your gold
    So watch out for the pirates

    Doesn’t matter what your rank
    Keep your coin safe in the bank
    Don’t let them make you walk the plank
    Watch out for the pirates

    We’ll dock at New Orleans at dawn
    Eat those beans until they’re gone
    Look out for that old man Jean,
    He was once a pirate

    Doesn’t matter where you are
    Could be a boat could be a car
    They’ll sneak up on you and go “ARGH!”
    Watch out for the pirates

     

  • Interview with Hungry for Music founder Jeff Campbell

    Interview with Hungry for Music founder Jeff Campbell

    The Hungry for Music RV, a.k.a. the Magic Music Bus, is traveling the United States to share its mission.
    The Hungry for Music RV, a.k.a. the Magic Music Bus, is traveling the United States to share its mission.

    Jeff Campbell: transforming lives with the gift of music

    This month, you might see a happy-looking RV around New Orleans (and traveling the highways and byways of Louisiana) wrapped in decals of guitars, trumpets, and violins and positive messages of music empowerment.

    It’s the “Hungry for Music” RV, aka the  “Magic Music Bus,” and for the next two years, it will be traveling across the United States, bringing awareness of its mission: “Inspiring Lives. Building Hope. One Instrument at a time.”

    Who’s driving the bus? The same guy who’s driving the mission: Jeff Campbell, founder of Hungry for Music, a nonprofit organization distributes musical instruments to children in need.

    Jeff, originally from Shreveport, established Hungry for Music in 1994 in Washington D.C. Since then, the nonprofit has donated over 8,000 instruments to children in 27 states and 14 countries.

    Listen to this interview with Confetti Park’s Katy Ray, where Jeff talks about the organization, his adventures, and why he is taking Hungry for Music on the road. The song in this podcast is “Itty Bitty,” performed by Susan Cowsill and Paul Sanchez.


    “It’s a very simple idea, but I think the sky is the limit as far as what we can do,” says Jeff. “I’d like to be an organization where, if a kid wants to play an instrument, then Hungry for Music is where they go.”

    Jeff Campbell
    Jeff Campbell, founder of Hungry for Music, is originally from Shreveport, La.

    Jeff is ready to expand beyond Washington, D.C.

    “We’ve kind of outgrown the old paradigm,” says Jeff. “We’re taking it on the road, going city to city, starting branch offices of Hungry for Music. Because of the amount of the requests we get now, we need the instruments to be coming from different places.”

    First stop: New Orleans.

    “I’m looking to put together a team of volunteers to collect and repair instruments and redistribute them,” says Jeff.  He is also building a coalition of local organizations to partner with, such as Roots of Music, Preservation Hall Foundation, Backstreet Cultural Museum, and Trumpets Not Guns.

    Children who are in need of an instrument can go to the Hungry for Music website, where the application period opens on a rolling basis (as instruments become available). http://hungryformusic.org/

    Flier for NOLA-based benefit
    Flier for NOLA-based benefit

    On March 27, 2016 (Easter Sunday) there will be benefit concert for Hungry for Music at Chickie Wah Wah in New Orleans, featuring the Susan Cowsill Band, Russ Broussard, Pink Slip, Alex McMurray, Paul Sanchez and other special guests. Tickets are $10, and donations of musical instruments will be accepted at the door.

    Learn more about http://hungryformusic.org/

     

  • Storytime: The Girl Who Danced with the Devil

    Storytime: The Girl Who Danced with the Devil

    Dancing with devilsIn this episode of Confetti Park, we hear an old folk tale called, “The Girl Who Danced with the Devil.” It is narrated for you by Catherine Golden, an early childhood teacher living in New Orleans.

    This tale originates in French Acadia culture (you can find it in the delightful Danny Kaye’s Around the World Story Book) and has been adapted for a Louisiana locality.

    In the story, a young girl who loves to dance more than anything is heading off to the Mardi Gras Ball with her fiancé. She is warned by her mother not to dance past midnight, otherwise, something bad will happen. When midnight strikes, the breathless partiers are having so much fun in their whirlwind of dance that they don’t mind the chimes of the clock…. the door opens and a mysterious, handsome stranger enters the room.

    Enjoy this mysterious and frightening tale of”The Girl Who Danced with the Devil.”

  • Storytime: Dixie the Old Dawg by Tommie Townsley

    Storytime: Dixie the Old Dawg by Tommie Townsley

    dixie-the-old-dogSouth Louisiana children’s author Tommie Townsley narrates the story of Dixie the Old Dawg for Confetti Park!

    Dixie The Ole Dawg is a true classic country “Cajun Tale” set in Southwest Louisiana. This inspiring tale is about a dog who was abandoned by her family during a hurricane. After the storm, she finds her way to Ms. Theriot’s house. It is there that the two of them build a trustworthy relationship. Dixie finds out what it feels like to be left alone with no one to care for her. However, she also realizes that sometimes you do have to go through a storm in order to find happiness! Both children and adults will enjoy this true story. It is full of love, friendship, trust, and affection. It you love dogs, you will love Dixie! Always remember, “Dogs are a man’s best friend!”

    You can order the book from Amazon or from Tommie’s own publishing house, Ally-Gator BookBites.

    Tommie, who lives in Lake Charles, is a great friend to Confetti Park and a leader in the children’s art and culture scene in Louisiana. She has inspired kids around the state with her charming Cajun animal tales. Learn more about Tommie in this interview with Confetti Park.

  • Interview with multi-talented author Melinda Taliancich Falgoust

    Interview with multi-talented author Melinda Taliancich Falgoust

    Melinda Taliancich Falgoust
    Melinda Taliancich Falgoust

    Children’s author, actress, and musician just scratches the surface of the roles and capabilities owned by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust of Metairie, La., as Katy Ray discovers in this interview on Confetti Park.

    Melinda, who has published several award-winning children’s books including Lousy Liver, Footprints, and her newest, Her Royal Majesty, the Superhero Bride of Frankenstein (which just earned a 5-star review with Reader’s Favorite), wears many hats. The navy veteran holds several jobs (including paralegal and school worker) and is a wife and mother to five kids. She also acts with the Porta-Puppet Players, a troupe of puppeteers, theatre actors and other entertainers that has been active in the Gulf South for decades. (Watch Melinda as Mother Goose on YouTube)

    In addition to all this, Melinda writes—prolifically—and spends a significant amount of time on the road traveling to make appearances at book festivals, conventions, and in school visits. Melinda writes for adults and middle-grade readers (see The Gubbins Club), and her works have also won awards in competitions around the world. But it seems writing—and illustrating—books for young children is where she has the most fun.

    “I have wanted to be a writer since I was twelve years old,” says Melinda. “I finally decided several years ago that it was time to dig in and get deep with it. So I pulled out the sketchbook, I pulled out the laptop, and started putting all those ideas that have been bubbling over the years right onto paper.”

    Lack of sleep notwithstanding, Melinda has found a happy place in children’s literature: “I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, and I realized, that, really, writing in the genre that I write, I don’t need to grow up!”

    Listen to Melinda narrate Lousy Liver

    Listen to Melinda narrate Footprints

     

  • Music Medley: Swamp Fire

    Music Medley: Swamp Fire

    Will-o'-the-wisp and Snake (colour litho); by Hendrich, Hermann (b.1856) (after); colour lithograph; Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France; Archives Charmet; German, out of copyright
    Will-o’-the-wisp and Snake by Hendrich, Hermann (b.1856)

    Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

    This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musical styles. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    Also in this episode, a narration of The Fifolet by Johnette Downing, about the Louisiana swamp fire spirit, and a Music Memory from Tom Stagg.


    The Confetti Park hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!

    [dt_sc_button type=”with-icon” link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/confetti-park/id979442391?mt=2″ size=”medium” target=”_blank”]Subscribe on iTunes[/dt_sc_button]

    The radio program version launched on April 4, 2015 in New Orleans on WHIV FM and is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, OffBeat magazine and Music Rising at Tulane University.

    Current broadcast schedule:

    Community radio stations, interested in carrying Confetti Park? Contact Katy Ray.

     

  • Music Medley: Swamp Fire

    Music Medley: Swamp Fire

    Will-o'-the-wisp and Snake (colour litho); by Hendrich, Hermann (b.1856) (after); colour lithograph; Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France; Archives Charmet; German, out of copyright
    Will-o’-the-wisp and Snake by Hendrich, Hermann (b.1856)

    Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

    This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musical styles. Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    Also in this episode, a narration of The Fifolet by Johnette Downing, about the Louisiana swamp fire spirit, and a Music Memory from Tom Stagg.


    The Confetti Park hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!

    [dt_sc_button type=”with-icon” link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/confetti-park/id979442391?mt=2″ size=”medium” target=”_blank”]Subscribe on iTunes[/dt_sc_button]

    The radio program version launched on April 4, 2015 in New Orleans on WHIV FM and is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, OffBeat magazine and Music Rising at Tulane University.

    Current broadcast schedule:

    Community radio stations, interested in carrying Confetti Park? Contact Katy Ray.

     

  • Music Memory from Hazel Schlueter

    Music Memory from Hazel Schlueter

    Hazel SchlueterHazel Schlueter is well known for her old time country music and bluegrass show on WWOZ (90.7 FM in New Orleans) and for her musical performances as the band leader of Hazel & the Delta Ramblers.

    In this episode of Confetti Park, Hazel shares a music memory from her early childhood. When she was just three years old, she knew wanted to play music, and asker her parents for a real piano. Much to her chagrin, the piano she received was a TOY!

    “My parents bought me a toy piano,” she recalls. “I was only three years old, but I looked at the toy piano and the black notes were painted on to the white notes. I knew this was not a real piano, and I was very sad.”

    But little Hazel persevered, and kept on asking for a piano. About a year and a half later, her parents finally gave in.

    “So kids, don’t be fooled!” advises Hazel. “Just keep asking, keep after them, and maybe your parents will come around.”

  • Music Medley: Frogs & Lizards & Flies

    Music Medley: Frogs & Lizards & Flies

    FrogConfetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana. This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians.

    Songs featured in this episode, in order:

    For more information about these artists, and kids music in Louisiana, visit https://confettipark.com

    Also in this episode, a childhood music memory from church organist Louis Mayer and a storytime feature by Yvette Landry: The Ghost Tree.


    The Confetti Park hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!

    [dt_sc_button type=”with-icon” link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/confetti-park/id979442391?mt=2″ size=”medium” target=”_blank”]Subscribe on iTunes[/dt_sc_button]

    The radio program version launched on April 4, 2015 in New Orleans on WHIV FM and is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, OffBeat magazine and Music Rising at Tulane University.

    Current broadcast schedule:

    Community radio stations, interested in carrying Confetti Park? Contact Katy Ray.